noun
left puppeteer (bunraku)
In bunraku, the puppeteer who operates the left arm of the puppet. Often part of a three-person team; compare 三人遣い.
See also: 三人遣い
文楽では、左遣いが人形の左腕を操る。
In bunraku, the left puppeteer manipulates the puppet's left arm.
三人遣い refers to the three-person puppeteer team as a whole, while 左遣い specifically denotes the left-arm operator.
Compound of 左 (ひだり, 'left') and 遣い (づかい, 'user, operator'), referring to the puppeteer who handles the left arm in bunraku.